EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – RIT senior attackman Quinn Commandant totaled three goals and an assist while senior goalie Drew Hutchison made 16 saves to lead the Tigers to a 12-10 victory over Union in the NCAA Division III National Championship game.

RIT is the sixth team in Division III history to win back-to-back national championships after also defeating Salisbury in double overtime, 15-14, to win the 2021 title, and is only the seventh program to win multiple championships. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• RIT fell behind, 7-2, with 4:49 left in the second quarter before back-to-back goals by sophomore midfielder John Mozrall brought the Tigers back within three, 7-4, heading into halftime. RIT (22-1) out-scored the Dutchmen, 4-0, in the third quarter, including two-straight goals by Commandant which gave the Tigers their first lead of the game. 
• Senior midfielder Marley Angus and senior midfielder Ryan Barnable opened the fourth quarter with consecutive goals to extend the RIT run to 8-0 for a 10-7 lead with 11:48 left in regulation. 
• Union broke its nearly 25-minute scoreless drought with 11:26 on the clock, before Tiger junior attackman Luke Pilcher notched a man-up tally at 8:28 to push the lead back to three, 11-8. The Dutchmen scored with 7:00 on the clock, but sophomore midfielder Seth Grottenthaler scored on the run at 5:39 for a 12-9 lead which proved insurmountable.
• Hutchison was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player after helping hold off the Dutchmen during the Tiger comeback, including five saves in the third quarter. 
• Angus notched two goals and two assists, while Mozzrall also added a pair of assists in the winning effort.  

GAME NOTES 

• Union finished with a 54-35 advantage in shots.
• RIT only trailed at halftime on one other occasion this season, falling behind, 7-4, in its 13-12 loss to RPI (Apr. 2)
• The Tigers' five-goal, second quarter deficit was its largest of the season.  
• Pilcher and Barnable each scored a goal and an assist.
• Graduate student midfelder Jimmy Spillane won 13 draws, including 7-of-13 in the second half, while picking up a team-high nine ground balls.
• The Tigers finished 23-of-25 on clears and went 2-for-2 on man-up opportunities.
• RIT's 22 wins are a single-season program record, while its 411 goals are also a single-season high.
• Sunday was the Tigers' fourth national championship game appearance, also finishing runner-up in 2017 and 2013.
• Salisbury was the last team to win back-to-back titles, winning the 2016 and 2017 championships. 
• RIT is 21-0 against Union since joining the Liberty League in 2012.
• Coon owns a 31-10 (.756) career record in 13 NCAA Tournament appearances.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Jake Coon:
"Wow, that was another incredible game. We had a really tough start today, and I think our guys showed what they've done all year – they just kept grinding and playing with a lot of heart, hustle, grit and toughness.

"We stuck together all day.  We talked about it a bunch at halftime - just keep grinding and chip away, and we did a nice job of that throughout the course of the game. I have to give Union a lot of credit. They're a fantastic, well-coached team, but I'm proud of our guys for sticking with the plan, making some adjustments and getting the job done in the end."
 
"I've also got to give Hutchy a ton of credit. He bailed us out on a ton on some really good looks from Union in the first half."

On the support from the Rochester community:
I've been in Rochester now a majority of my life, so I'm a Rochesterian through and through at this point.  It's an unbelievable lacrosse community.  They give us a ton of support, whether its youth, high school, or whatever. They give us a ton of support, and certainly our AD Jackie Nicholson, our whole athletic department and our president have given us what we need to succeed.  We feel supported, and I'm just really happy for the entire community that we can bring home a second championship.  It feels great.
 
When the winning feeling will sink in:
When the final bell rung there, I think it was immediate.  You don't get these opportunities very often, and you'd better take advantage.  We talked about that a lot, that this doesn't come around every year, and don't expect it to.  Certainly it's a goal of ours, but you need to take it all in and cherish the moment. I'm just super excited.  I know we talked a bit about the legacy piece and leaving our mark as the sixth team ever in Division III to win back-to-back titles, so it's incredible to be a part of that small group of fantastic lacrosse programs.

Senior Goalie Drew Hutchison:
Our whole D core is awesome. They let up the shots that they know I can save, and when we break down, we always reset.  We're not worried about the next play. We know we're going to make stops, and, especially in the first half when they came up on us, we just stayed positive at our end and knew that the offense would take over.
 
On how the adversity of last year's double OT win over Salisbury helped this year:
We just stayed positive the whole time. Our group is pretty resilient, and no matter what the score was, we were going to go out and make plays. The offense played great in the second half, and we were able to bury a couple more than they scored on us.
 
Senior attackman Quinn Commandant:
As RIT Lacrosse, we want to get up-and-down, and not being able to do that early in the game kind of hurt us a little bit. But as we got going, Hutchy was getting the ball out real quick, and we were able to get out and run. (Senior midfielder) Pent Eistrat and Andrew Powlin, along with our LSMs and other D-middies did a very good job of breaking out of the hole real quick, and we were able to push in transition and score a couple goals. 
 
On how it feels to win back-to-back national championships:
To be honest, it's hard to put into words. It was hard to put into words last year and it's just as hard this year. I think being fifth-year seniors, we saw what those seniors last year went through, going out on top in their last game, and we wanted to just do that ourselves, and it feels incredible. It's unbelievable.

Senior Midfielder Ryan Barnable on the legacy his class will leave:
I don't think that comes down to us. I feel Coach Coon does a really good job of setting a good team atmosphere and, we have guys fill roles every year. We always hear people say RIT is down and out because we lost some guys, but other guys find roles and step up in big ways. Credit to Coach Coon and Assistant Coach Shawn Wilkins. They do a great job bringing in talent and developing that talent.